A process for testing seal quality and height of flexible packages in accordance with the invention includes the following steps. Positioning a package to be tested at a test station. Initially moving a loading device into contact with the flexible package in a direction which applies an increasing load to a fluid within the package with the load applied to the package being sensed with a sensing device. Moving the loading device an initial distance in the direction which causes the sensed load to equal a set load. Defining as a reference position of the loading device an actual position of the loading device when the set load is sensed by the sensing device. Stopping movement of the loading device when the set load has been sensed by the sensing device for a time interval sufficient to permit the package to expand at the test station which drops the load sensed by the sensing device below the set load. Moving the loading device an additional distance from the reference position in the same previously defined direction to further decrease the height of the package where the set load is applied to the package. Accepting the package if the movement of the loading device the additional distance from the reference position causes the load sensed by the sensing device to at least equal the set load and the additional distance of movement from the reference position falls within a set range defining an acceptable minimum and maximum height of the package.

(a) positioning a package with initial height and width dimensions to be tested at a test station;

(b) initially moving a loading device into contact with the flexible package in a direction which applies an increasing load to fluid within the package with the load applied to the package being sensed with a sensing device;

(c) moving the loading device an initial distance in the same direction which causes the sensed load to equal a set load;

(d) defining as a reference position of the loading device an actual position of the loading device when the set load is sensed by the sensing device;

(e) stopping movement of the loading device when the set load has been sensed by the sensing device for a time interval sufficient to permit the package to expand at the test station which drops the load sensed by the sensing device below the set load;

(f) moving the loading device an additional distance from the reference position in the same direction to further decrease the height of the package where the set load is applied to the package; and

(g) accepting the package if the movement of the loading device the additional distance from the reference position causes the load sensed by the sensing device to at least equal the set load and the additional distance of movement from the reference position, which further decreased the height of the package, falls within a set range defining an acceptable minimum and maximum height of the package.

2. A process in accordance with claim 1 further comprising:

(h) rejecting the package if the movement of the loading device from the reference position the additional distance does not cause the sensed load to at least equal the set load or if the sensed load at least equals the set load and the movement of the loading device the additional distance from the reference position does not fall within the range defining the acceptable minimum and maximum height of the package.

3. A process in accordance with claim 2 further comprising:

positioning sequentially in time a plurality of packages at the test station with a conveyor system;

repeating steps (a)-(h) for each of the plurality of packages to be sequentially positioned at the test station; and

packing a plurality of the accepted packages within a case using a case packing machine with the packages being stacked by the case packing machine in a predetermined stacked packing configuration with a total height of the plurality of the accepted packages in the stacked packing configuration falling within a permissible range of height of the stacked packing configuration between a minimum and a maximum height for which the case packing machine operates without packing error.

4. A process in accordance with claim 1 wherein:

the set load, the minimum height, the maximum height and the additional distance is programmed into a controller of an apparatus controlling the process before positioning of the package at the test station.

5. A process in accordance with claim 2 wherein:

the set load, the minimum height, the maximum height and the additional distance is programmed into a controller of an apparatus controlling the process before positioning of the package at the test station.

6. A process in accordance with claim 3 wherein:

the set load, the minimum height, the maximum height and the additional distance is programmed into a controller of an apparatus controlling the process before positioning of any of the packages at the test station.

7. A process in accordance with claim 1 wherein:

the moving of the loading device is powered with a stepping motor; and

the sensing of the load on the flexible package is sensed with a strain gauge.

8. A process in accordance with claim 2 wherein:

the moving of the loading device is powered with a stepping motor; and

the sensing of the load on the flexible package is sensed with a strain gauge.

9. A process in accordance with claim 3 wherein:

the moving of the loading device is powered with a stepping motor; and

the sensing of the load on the flexible package is sensed with a strain gauge.

10. A process in accordance with claim 4 wherein:

the moving of the loading device is powered with a stepping motor; and

the sensing of the load on the flexible package is sensed with a strain gauge.

11. A process in accordance with claim 5 wherein:

the moving of the loading device is powered with a stepping motor; and

the sensing of the load on the flexible package is sensed with a strain gauge.

12. A process in accordance with claim 6 wherein:

the moving of the loading device is powered with a stepping motor; and

the sensing of the load on the flexible package is sensed with a strain gauge.

13. A process in accordance with claim 1 wherein:

the packages are provided to the conveyor system with a packaging machine.

14. A process in accordance with claim 2 wherein:

the packages are provided to the conveyor system with a packaging machine.

15. A process in accordance with claim 3 wherein:

the packages are provided to the conveyor system with a packaging machine.

16. A process in accordance with claim 4 wherein:

the packages are provided to the conveyor system with a packaging machine.

17. A process in accordance with claim 5 wherein:

the packages are provided to the conveyor system with a packaging machine.

18. A process in accordance with claim 6 wherein:

the packages are provided to the conveyor system with a packaging machine.

19. A process In accordance with claim 7 wherein:

the packages are provided to the conveyor system with a packaging machine.

20. A process in accordance with claim 8 wherein:

the packages are provided to the conveyor system with a packaging machine.

21. A process in accordance with claim 9 wherein:

the packages are provided to the conveyor system with a packaging machine.

22. A process in accordance with claim 9 wherein:

the packages are provided to the conveyor system with a packaging machine.

23. A process in accordance with claim 1 wherein:

the set range is determined by testing a plurality of packages with the set load and determining the additional distance of movement of the sensing device for all acceptable packages at which the set load is sensed to have been reached; and

setting the set range of acceptable minimum and maximum package height as a function of the determined additional distance.

24. A process in accordance with claim 23 wherein:

the set range of acceptable minimum and maximum package height as a function of the determined additional distance is an average of the determined additional distance of each of the tested plurality of packages all of the acceptable.

(a) positioning a package with initial height and width dimensions to be tested at a test station;

(b) initially moving a loading device into contact with the flexible package in a direction which applies an increasing load to fluid within the package with the load applied to the package being sensed with a sensing device; (c) moving the loading device an initial distance in the same direction which causes the sensed load to equal a set load;

(d) stopping movement of the loading device when the set load has been sensed by the sensing device for a time interval sufficient to permit the package to expand at the test station which drops the load sensed by the sensing device below the set load;

(e) moving the loading device in the same direction an additional distance over a testing time interval to further decrease the height of the package where the seat load is applied to the package while sensing the load on the package with the sensing device to expel fluid from the package during the testing time interval if leaks are present in the package; and

(f) rejecting the package after completion of moving the loading device the additional distance if the sensing device detects a drop in the load sensed over the testing time interval and accepting the package if the sensing device does not detect a drop in the load sensed over the testing time interval.

32. A process in accordance with claim 31 further comprising:

(g) stopping movement of the loading device after moving the loading device the additional distance for another time interval sufficient to permit the package to expand if the package is not fully expanded;

(h) moving the loading device in the direction another additional distance over another testing time interval to expel fluid from the package during the another testing time interval if leaks are present in the package; and

(i) rejecting the package after completion of moving the loading device the another additional distance if the sensing device detects a drop in the load sensed over the another testing time interval and accepting the package if the sensing device does not detect a drop in the load sensed over the another testing time interval.

a load sensor for sensing a load applied to the packages at the test station and producing an electrical signal representing the load applied to the packages at the test station;

a loading device for applying a load to the packages at the test station;

an actuator for moving the loading device in a direction into contact with the flexible packages at the test station which applies an increasing load to fluid within the packages;

a prime mover for providing power to the actuator for causing the actuator to move the loading device;

a system for moving the packages to the test station for testing and removing the packages from the test station after testing is completed and for designating the packages as accepted or rejected packages; and

a controller, electrically coupled to the load sensor, the prime mover and the system for moving packages, for determining a position of the loading device, for monitoring the sensed load, for controlling operation of the system for moving packages, for controlling an application of power to the prime mover to provide power to the actuator to cause movement of the loading device in the direction so that the loading device is initially moved into contact with the flexible package to apply an increasing load to the fluid within the package until the controller receives from the load sensor an electrical signal representing that the sensed load equals a set load, for defining a reference position of the loading device when the set load is sensed to have been reached, for causing movement of the loading device to Stop when the set load has been sensed by the sensing device for a time interval sufficient to permit the packages to expand at the test station which then drops the load sensed below the set load, for causing the loading device to be moved a distance from the reference position in the same direction for causing the package to be moved from the test station by the system for moving packages and classifies the package as an acceptable package if the movement of the loading device from the reference position causes the load sensed by the sensing device to at least equal the set load and the distance of movement from the reference position falls within a set range defining an acceptable minimum and maximum height of the package, and for causing the package to be moved from the test station and classified as a rejected package if the movement the distance from the reference position does not cause the sensed load to at least equal the set load or if the sensed load at least equals the set load and the movement of the loading device by the distance from the reference position does not fall within the range defining the acceptable minimum and maximum height for the package.

35. An apparatus in accordance with claim 34 further comprising:

a case packaging machine, in line with the system for moving the packages, for packing accepted packages in a predetermined configuration into cases with a height of a plurality of the accepted packages in the stacked packing configuration falling within a permissible range of height of the stacked packing configuration between a minimum and maximum height for which the case packing machine operates without packing error.

36. An apparatus in accordance with claim 34 wherein:

the load sensor is a strain gauge;

the prime mover is a stepping motor; and

the controller is a programmed microprocessor.

37. An apparatus in accordance with claim 35 wherein:

the load sensor is a strain gauge;

the prime mover is a stepping motor; and

the controller is a programmed microprocessor.

38. An apparatus in accordance with claim 34 wherein:

the controller determines the set range by controlling testing of a plurality of packages with the set load and determines the additional distance of movement of the sensing device for all of the acceptable packages at which the set load is sensed to have been reached and sets the set range as a function of the determined additional distance.

39. An apparatus in accordance with claim 38 wherein:

the function of the determined distance is an average of the additional distance for the tested plurality of all acceptable packages.

Description:

TECHNICAL FIELD

The present invention relates to the testing of seal quality and height of flexible packages.

BACKGROUND ART

Flexible sealed plastic bags containing a product, such as foodstuffs, are in widespread usage. These flexible sealed plastic bags contain a gas which is placed in the package to maintain the integrity of the product during storage conditions. Furthermore, the flexible sealed bags must keep the foodstuffs from leaking from the bags. In bags containing foodstuffs, leakage of air into the package permits oxygen to contact the product which produces undesirable oxidation of the product lessening its shelf life. As a result, sealed plastic bags containing foodstuffs, such as potato chips, are inspected for seal defects in the bags, as well as small leaks in the face of the bags. The inspection process is still largely manual in nature. While manual inspection is quite satisfactory for locating defective bags, it has the disadvantage of being time consuming and costly given the labor which is involved.

The most common types of leaks in flexible packages are in the end seals. Often particulate matter, such as food particles, becomes caught on the surface where the end seal is to be made. As a result, when the end seals are being formed, a complete seal cannot be formed because the particulate matter bridges the opposing faces which are to be joined or the seal has insufficient strength because very little surface area of the opposing faces in the vicinity of the seals is actually joined.

Currently, there is a trend in the food industry to use automatic case packing machines which take product after it has been sealed in flexible plastic bags and place it automatically into cases, such as cardboard boxes, without manual intervention. Case packing machines placing product contained in flexible plastic bags operate properly when the product is stacked in a packing configuration. The packing configuration of the stacked bags should fall within a predetermined minimum and maximum height in order for the case packing machine to properly operate.

Furthermore, tests are used in the packing industry to test a whole case of packed product contained in flexible packages to detect so-called "microleaks" in the face of the package. This process is usually performed by manual submersion of the product into water to detect for the presence of bubbles being expelled out of the package when the package is pressurized by the person submerging the package. If any "microleaks" are found, the whole case of flexible packages is rejected which is indicative of the packaging material being used in a packaging line having a fault which requires the shut-down of the automatic packing line.

Certain automated devices have been developed for checking the integrity of seals on plastic bags which are packaged in an automatic packaging line. U.S. Pat. No. 4,649,740 discloses an apparatus and method for testing leaks in packages. The device disclosed in the '740 patent has a series of measuring stations through which bags are moved during the testing process. A group of probes are lowered into contact with the inflated bags at each of the series of stations. An encoding mechanism determines if at successive stations the contacting of the packages with the probes causes a significant decrease in the height of the package which is indicative of a faulty package. The device of the '740 patent does not check if the bags fall within a height tolerance between a minimum and a maximum height. U.S. Pat. No. 4,697,452 discloses an apparatus for testing the integrity of sealed packages. The device disclosed in the '452 patent checks to determine if a bag leaks under application of pressure applied by a movable arm or a fixed shoe. The apparatus of the '452 patent does not check for the bags being within a height tolerance between a minimum and a maximum height. U.S. Pat. No. 4,955,226 discloses a method and apparatus for automatically detecting the presence of holes in sealed plastic bags. The apparatus of the '226 patent initially loads the bag with a first movable member which moves downwardly into contact with the bag to expand the bag. Thereafter, a movable plate is lowered into contact with the bag while the bag is still under pressure from the first movable member. A displacement transducer contacts the bags which has a pair of tips which are displaced vertically upward in response to the lowering of the plate in contact with the bag. The sensed upward movement of the transducer tips is compared with the response which is produced by a bag without leaks to determine if seal integrity is present. The device of the '226 patent does not check if the bags fall within a height tolerance between a minimum and a maximum height. The device of the '226 patent is not designed to detect pinhole leaks which are leaks which are so small that an appreciably measurable amount of air cannot be measured from coming out of the bags in response to the lowering of the load device.

A significant need exists today for a device which permits the in-line testing of flexible package integrity and height at high throughputs such as 60 bags per minute which are typical of the throughput of automatic packaging lines for flexible packages containing a wide range of substances.

Furthermore, the usage of sealed, flexible plastic bags is becoming much more widespread than their long-standing use in the food industry. For example, water-soluble pouches are now used to package fertilizer and pesticides. The water-soluble pouch is packed within another plastic bag which is ripped open when it is desired to use the fertilizer or pesticide. These packages contain hazardous materials which are not intended to contact the user who is opening the packages to place the inner water-soluble bag into liquid to dissolve it. Additionally, other types of sealed plastic bags containing fluids, such as IV bags and disposable contact lenses, are becoming more widespread in use which also must be tested for seal integrity desirably at a high throughput rate achieved during an in-line packaging process.

Furthermore, a need exists for a device which automatically checks, as part of an automated packaging process, seal integrity of flexible plastic packages as well as determining if the flexible packages fall within acceptable height specifications to facilitate the use of automatic case packaging machines. The checking of flexible packages for leaks and height tolerance at a single testing station in-line with a packaging process would permit a higher production throughput to be achieved as well as insuring high quality packaging at reduced cost.

DISCLOSURE OF INVENTION

The present invention is a process for testing seal quality and height of flexible packages and an apparatus for testing quality and height of flexible packages. Furthermore, the present invention provides a process for testing seal quality over an extended time interval to detect "microleaks" which cannot be tested during an in-line packaging process where seal quality and height of flexible packages are being tested.

As used herein, the term "flexible packaging" is used to describe any fluid-tight package having walls which flex under load such as, but not limited to, flexible plastic packages of the type discussed above.

The present invention utilizes a movable loading device which contacts a flexible package at a testing station to first expand the flexible package under a set load for a time interval sufficient to permit the package to completely elastically expand. This elastic expansion drops the load sensed by a load sensing device below the set load which was applied by the loading device measured by the load sensing device during contact of the loading device with the flexible package being tested. The useful effect of this initial expansion of the flexible package is to normalize the response characteristic of the flexible package during a subsequent application of the set load used to simultaneously test seal integrity and compliance with height specifications of flexible packages. The subsequent application of the set load is produced by moving the loading device an additional distance from the reference position at which the flexible package was first expanded elastically under application of the set load. The distance of movement of the loading device, until the sensing device again reaches the set load, is precisely measured to determine if the flexible package has acceptable seal integrity and falls within acceptable minimum and maximum height specifications. Furthermore, if the application of the applied load to the flexible package during the subsequent loading step through a set distance does not cause the flexible package to be loaded to a point where the sensing device again senses the set load, the package is rejected as having an unacceptable seal integrity. Furthermore, the flexible package is rejected if the distance which the loading device moves during the subsequent loading step to achieve the set load is outside of the set minimum and maximum heights of the flexible package. By rejecting packages which do not fall within acceptable heights, as defined by minimum and maximum height specifications, the present invention facilitates the use of automatic case packaging machines which require stacks of multiple packages to fall within a set height range to facilitate packing.

The present invention may also be used to detect microleaks. The overall operational sequence is similar to that used for testing seal quality and height of flexible packages except that after the initial elastic expansion of the package and after the sensing of the set load is achieved, the loading device is used to apply additional loading to the flexible package during a testing time interval. The testing time interval is much longer than that used for testing for seal integrity and height compliance and may be 10 seconds in duration for the purpose of trying to expel fluid from the flexible package to determine if "microleaks" are present. If a drop in the sensed load is detected during the additional loading step applied during the testing time interval, the package may be rejected as one containing unacceptable microleaks. Otherwise, the package may be accepted if the sensing device does not detect a drop in the load sensed over the testing time interval.

The preferred application of this process repeatedly stops the loading device followed by application of additional load to the flexible package during another time interval sufficient such as, but not limited to, 10 seconds to permit the package to fully expand elastically if the package was not fully elastically expanded by the initial loading step. The purpose of this subsequent loading step(s) is to eliminate the possibility that the first loading step is not sufficient to totally elastically expand the package which must be achieved in order for an accurate testing of microleaks to be achieved given the fact that further elastic expansion of the package during the subsequent loading step(s) would cause the sensed load to drop which produces a misleading response characteristic indicative of a package containing unacceptable microleaks. After the second loading step to further eliminate the possibility of the flexible package not being totally elastically expanded, the flexible package is loaded by moving the loading device another additional distance during another testing time interval to determine if any drop in the sensed load occurs. Any dropping of the sensed load is indicative of unacceptable microleaks being present. If the sensed load does not drop during the additional testing time interval, the flexible bag is considered to be acceptable. The stopping of the loading device followed by the movement of additional distances can be repeated as many times as necessary in order to insure that the bag is totally elastically expanded prior to determining if fluid (gas, liquid or a mixture thereof) is expelled under the application of additional load applied by the loading device.

The apparatus of the present invention for testing quality and height of flexible packages permits the aforementioned process for testing quality and height of flexible packages to be performed in-line with production equipment for packaging flexible packages such as the type discussed above which are in widespread usage in the food industry, etc. The controller of the apparatus of the present invention permits the integrated control of conveyor systems for conveying flexible packages to and from the test station where testing is performed and the activation of an automatic case packaging machine so as to achieve the aforementioned high throughput capability for testing both the seal integrity and height of flexible packages.

A process for testing seal quality and height of flexible packages in accordance with the invention includes positioning a package to be tested at a test station; initially moving a loading device into contact with the flexible package in a direction which applies an increasing load to a fluid within the package with the load applied to the package being sensed with a sensing device; moving the loading device an initial distance in the direction which causes the sensed load to equal a set load; defining as a reference position of the loading device an actual position of the loading device when the set load is sensed by the sensing device; stopping movement of the loading device when the set load has been sensed by the sensing device for a time interval sufficient to permit the package to expand at the test station which drops the load sensed by the sensing device below the set load; moving the loading device an additional distance from the reference position in the same previously defined direction to further decrease the height of the package where the set load is applied to the package; and accepting the package if the movement of the loading device the additional distance from the reference position causes the load sensed by the sensing device to at least equal the set load and the additional distance of movement from the reference position falls within a set range defining an acceptable minimum and maximum height of a package. Furthermore, the process may include rejecting the package if the movement of the loading device from the reference position the additional distance does not cause the sensed load to at least equal the set load or if the sensed load at least equals the set load and the movement of the loading device the additional distance from the reference position does not fall within the range defining the acceptable minimum and maximum height of the package. Furthermore, the process may include positioning sequentially in time a plurality of packages at the test station with a conveyor system with each of the preceding steps up through the rejecting of the package being repeated for each of the plurality of packages positioned at the test station; and packing a plurality of the accepted packages within a case using a case packing machine with the packages being stacked by the case packing machine in a predetermined stacked packaging configuration with a total height of the plurality of the accepted packages in the stacked packing configuration falling within a permissible range of height of the stacked packing configuration between a minimum and a maximum for which the case packing machine operates without packing error. The set load, minimum height, maximum height and additional distance may be programmed into a controller of an apparatus controlling the process for positioning of the package at the test station. In a preferred embodiment of the invention the moving of the loading device may be powered by a stepping motor and the sensing of the load on the flexible package is sensed with a strain gauge. Furthermore, in a preferred embodiment of the invention the packages are provided to the conveyor system by a packaging machine.

The set range may be determined by testing a plurality of packages with the set load and determining the additional distance of movement of the sensing device at which the sensed load is measured to have been reached; and setting the set range as a function of the determined additional distance. The set range as a function of the predetermined additional distance is preferably an average of the predetermined additional distance of each of the test plurality of all accepted packages.

The flexible packages may without limitation contain solid foodstuffs and gas, a liquid and a gas, or a solid and a gas.

A process for testing seal quality of a flexible package in accordance with the invention includes positioning a package to be tested at a test station; initially moving a loading device into contact with the flexible package in a direction which applies an increasing load to a fluid within the package with the load applied to the package being sensed with a sensing device; moving the loading device an initial distance in the direction which causes the sensed load to equal a set load; stopping movement of the loading device when the set load has been sensed by the sensing device for a time interval sufficient to permit the package to expand at the test station which drops the load sensed by the sensing device below the set load; moving the loading device in the same previously defined direction an additional distance over a testing time interval while sensing the load on the package with the sensing device to expel fluid from the package during the testing time interval if leaks are present in the package; and rejecting the package after completion of moving the loading device the additional distance if the sensing device detects a drop in the load sensed over the testing time interval and accepting the package if the sensing device does not detect a drop in the load sensed over the testing time interval. The process may further include stopping movement of the loading device after moving the loading device the additional distance for another time interval sufficient to permit the package to expand if the package is not fully expanded; moving the loading device in the same previously defined direction another additional distance over another testing time interval to expel fluid from the package during the another testing time interval if leaks are present in the package; and rejecting the package after completion of moving the loading device the another additional distance if the sensing device detects a drop in the load sensed over the another testing time interval and accepting the package if the sensing device does not detect a drop in the load sensed over the another testing time interval. The preceding stopping movement, moving the loading device and rejecting the package steps may be repeated.

An apparatus for testing quality and height of flexible packages in accordance with the invention includes a test station; a load sensor for sensing a load applied to packages at the test station and producing an electrical signal representing the load applied to the packages at the test station; a loading device for applying a load to the packages at the test station; an actuator for moving the loading device in a direction into contact with the flexible packages at the test station which applies an increasing load to a fluid within the packages; a prime mover for providing power to the actuator for causing the actuator to move the loading device; a system for moving the packages to the test station for testing and removing the packages from the test station after testing is completed and for designating the packages as accepted or rejected packages; and a controller, electrically coupled to the load sensor, the prime mover and the system for moving, for determining a position of the loading device, for monitoring the sensed load, for controlling operation of the system for moving, for controlling an application of power to the prime mover to provide power to the actuator to cause movement of the loading device in the direction so that the loading device is initially moved into contact with the flexible package to apply an increasing load to the fluid within the package until the controller receives from the load sensor an electrical signal representing that the sensed load equals a set load, for defining a reference position of the loading device when the set load is sensed to have been reached, for causing movement of the loading device to stop when the set load has been sensed by the sensing device for a time interval sufficient to permit the packages to expand at the test station which drops the load sensed below the set load, for causing the loading device to be moved a distance from the reference position in the same direction, for causing the package to be moved from the test station by the system for moving as an acceptable package if the movement of the loading device from the reference position causes the load sensed by the sensing device to at least equal the set load and the distance of movement from the reference position falls within a set range defining an acceptable minimum and maximum height of the package, and for causing the package to be moved from the test station as a rejected package if the movement by the distance from the reference position does not cause the sensed load to at least equal the set load or if the sensed load at least equals the set load and the movement of the loading device by the distance from the reference position does not fall within the range defining the acceptable minimum and maximum height. The invention further includes a case packing machine, in-line with the system for moving the packages, for packing acceptable packages in a predetermined configuration into cases with a height of a plurality of the accepted packages in the stacked packing configuration falling within a-permissible range of height of the stacked packing configuration between at minimum and maximum for which the case packing machine operates without packing error. Preferably, the load sensor is a strain gauge; the prime mover is a stepping servo motor; and the controller is a programmed microprocessor. The controller determines the set range by controlling testing of a plurality of packages with the set load and determines the additional distance of movement of the sensing device at which the set load is sensed to have been reached and sets the set range as a function of the predetermined distance. The function of the predetermined distance is preferably an average of the additional distance for the tested plurality of packages.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 illustrates an embodiment of an apparatus for testing quality and height of flexible packages and for testing seal quality of flexible packages to determine the presence of microleaks.

FIG. 2 is a block diagram of a control system which may be used to control the embodiment of FIG. 1.

FIG. 3 is a diagram illustrating the setting and testing of flexible packages with programmable set loads and a set flexible package height range.

FIG. 4 is an end view of the embodiment of FIG. 1.

FIGS. 5-8 illustrate a sequence of loading steps applied to a flexible package during testing for seal quality and compliance with height specifications.

FIG. 9 illustrates a required range between a minimum and a maximum height of a stack of flexible packages to facilitate use of a case packing machine of conventional construction as illustrated in the embodiment of FIG. 1.

BEST MODE FOR CARRYING OUT THE INVENTION

The embodiment 10 of the invention, as illustrated in FIGS. 1 and 4, is part of an in-line packaging system for flexible packages 11. The flexible packages may be without limitation used for packing of foodstuffs such as potato chips. The flexible packages 11 contain a fluid which may be either a gas, liquid or a mixture of gas and liquid with or without the presence of solids. The embodiment 10 has several major stations which are an inclined section 12, which is part of a conventional packaging machine of the type which conveys flexible packages such as those containing potato chips or other foodstuffs, a testing station 14 which performs seal quality and height testing of flexible packages as described below, a reject conveyor 16 of conventional construction using a source of compressed air 17 to reject flexible packages which fail the testing sequence described below in conjunction with FIGS. 5-8 which receives tested packages discharged from the testing section and conveys acceptable packages to an auto case packer 18 of conventional construction. The reject conveyor 16 rejects packages by use of a blast of air from source 17, which is controlled by the controller described below, as is conventionally done in the packaging industry.

The inclined section 12 is comprised of a frame 20 having horizontally disposed members 22, vertically disposed members 24 and an inclined member 26. The inclined section 12 has an angular adjustment mechanism 28 which is adjusted to vary the angle of inclination of a conveyor 30 which supports a conveyor belt (not illustrated) for transporting the flexible packages 11 up an incline to the testing station 14. The horizontally disposed input section 32 is in line with a packaging line (not illustrated) which seals the flexible packages 11. The conveyor 30 delivers the packages 11 to a discharge section 36 on the same plane as the testing station 14 where testing of seal quality and height of the flexible packages is performed as described below. The inclined conveyor 12 functions to incrementally move the flexible packages 11 at a rate matching the incremental movement of the flexible packages through the test station 14 and the incremental movement by the reject conveyor 16. The incremental movement rate of the flexible packages through inclined section 12, testing station 14 and reject conveyor 16 is programmable with the controller 60 as described below. The incremental movement necessary to perform the testing operation, as discussed below in conjunction with FIGS. 5-8, is synchronized and controlled by the controller 60 in accordance with the control system illustrated in the block diagram of FIG. 2.

The conveyor 38, as illustrated in FIG. 4, includes a conveyor belt 39 which is supported by a rigid conveyor belt support frame 41 having upper and lower support surfaces 43 and 45 respectively so that the conveyor 38 does not flex during application of load to the flexible packages 11 during testing. As is described below, absolute position detection of the bottom surface of the pressure plate 54 during the sequence of the loading steps described in conjunction with FIGS. 5-8 is required to check seal integrity and height and for microleaks. A rigid conveyor belt support frame 41 immediately below the pressure plate 54 permits the sensed displacement of the digital stepping motor to be used as a direct measurement of absolute position.

The conveyor 38 accepts the flexible packages 11 from the output section 36 of the inclined section 12 and sequentially and incrementally conveys them past the testing mechanism 40 for testing seal quality and height as described below in conjunction with FIGS. 5-8. The conveyor 38 has an output 41 from which the tested flexible packages 11 are discharged to the reject conveyor 16.

The testing station 14 includes a support frame 42 which is comprised of vertical members 44 and horizontal members 46 and a control 47 contained in enclosure housing 48. An operator interface 50, which may be a Model 1100 Intelligent Operator Interface, manufactured by Eason Technology, is provided for controlling and programming the operation of the embodiment 10. A load cell 52, which preferably is a capacitive strain gauge manufactured by Rice Lake Corporation, is mounted on a movable loading device 54 in the form of a pressure plate which is indexed vertically under the control of a linear actuator 56 or other translation mechanism under control of a prime mover which, without limitation, is stepper/servo motor 58. The stepper/servo motor 58 has extremely high resolution which in a preferred application has 52,000 steps per revolution. This resolution in combination with the linear actuator 56 in a preferred application provides a feedback of 1,111.1 steps per millimeter which permits an extremely highly accurate calculation of the absolute position of the pressure plate 54 beginning at the time of initial contact with the flexible packages 11 and further during compression of the flexible packages as described below. The linear actuator 56 may be of differing constructions but one type of linear actuator which may be used with the present invention is an Axidyne Screw-Drive Actuator manufactured by Tol-O-Matic and described in U.S. Pat. No. 4,545,290. While different types of prime movers may be used, a preferred type is without limitation the E series hybrid NEMA42 frame size stepper motor identified by one of part numbers E41HCHT-LNK-NS-00, E42HCHT-LNK-NS-00 and 43HCHT-LNK-NS-00. An S-Drive manufactured by Compumotor Division of Parker Hannifin Corporation, and a Model 6200 Indexer manufactured by Compumotor Division, Parker Hannifin Corporation which are respectively identified by part numbers p/n 88-011483-01F and p/n 88-013168-01C are used to control the aforementioned type of stepper motor in a preferred application of the invention.

The program modules of the Appendix are in part Used to control the aforementioned stepper motor and associated electronics and to control indexing of the conveyor 38 and reject conveyor 16, processing of data read by the load cell 52 and numerous other control functions which are not necessary for understanding or practicing the present invention.

The overall function of the testing station 14 is to place the flexible packages 11 which are being tested for seal quality and height under load by vertically moving downward the pressure plate 54 under the drive from the linear actuator 56. The linear actuator 56 is powered by the stepper/servo motor 58 to place the packages under a sequence of at least two compressions as described below to test for the seal integrity of the flexible packages and further whether the height of the packages is between acceptable minimum and maximum height limits which facilitate packing by the auto case packer 18 as described below.

FIG. 2 illustrates a block diagram of the control 47 of the embodiment of FIG. 1. The control 47 includes a controller 60 which is preferably a programmed microprocessor which controls the various elements of the system using the program modules contained in the Appendix. However, it should be understood that the present invention is not limited to the control 47 of the block diagram of FIG. 2 and to the program modules of the Appendix. Like reference numerals identify like numbers in FIGS. 1 and 2. In a preferred embodiment of the present invention, the controller 60 provides drive pulses on line 62 to the prime mover and primer mover driver 58 which supplies rotary power to the linear actuator 56. The advantage of using a digital stepper motor is that the controller 60 is programmed to count the number of pulses supplied on line 62 to the prime mover and the prime mover driver 58 which provides the absolute position of the bottom of the pressure plate 54 during contact with the flexible package 11 disposed on top of the testing section conveyor 39. The determination of the absolute position of the pressure plate 54 during the various processing steps of the pressure plate in loading the flexible packages is described below. The load cell 52 which, as stated above, preferably is a strain gauge, functions to provide feedback of sensed load to the controller 60 over line 64 which is required to test flexible packages 11. The use of the sensed load produced by the load cell 52 is described in detail below. The reject conveyor 16 is controlled by the controller 60. When either the height adjustment measured by the controller 60 is outside of a range defining an acceptable thickness or the load cell 52 fails to reach the set load, the flexible package should be rejected. The reject conveyor 16 may be of conventional design using a solenoid (not illustrated) controlling the source of compressed air 17 to blow air orthogonally out of the plane of FIG. 1 adjacent to the conveyor belt of the reject conveyor. Furthermore, the controller 60 functions to control the activation of the inclined conveyor 12 and the indexing conveyor 38 so that the flexible packages 11 are incrementally conveyed sequentially from the horizontally disposed input section 32 up the inclined conveyor 12 through the testing station 14 where they are sequentially contacted by the pressure plate 54 when the conveyor belt 39 is stopped using the loading sequences described in FIGS. 5-8 described below as sensed by the load cell 52. Additionally, an optional loading device position detector 62 provides feedback of an absolute position signal to the controller 60 which may be provided for sensing the absolute vertical position of the pressure plate 54 if the preferred control of the prime mover and prime mover driver 58 in the form of a digital stepping motor and the programmed microprocessor 60 is not used to determine the position of the pressure plate 54 by counting the number of control pulses applied on line 62. The optional loading device position detector 62 may be implemented by any suitable position servo mechanism which detects the position of the pressure plate 54 and feeds it back to the controller 60 for determination of absolute position. Furthermore, other known position detecting devices may be used as the optional loading device position detector 62 when the preferred embodiment of the prime mover and prime mover driver 58 in the form a digital stepping motor is not used which does not require position feedback information produced by the optional loading device position detector.

The modules of the Appendix which are executed by the controller 60 are summarized with reference to pages 1-50 of the Appendix as follows:

Pages 1-31

A. Sets screen date for Operator Interface Terminal

B. Sets input and output functions on Operator Interface Terminal

C. Sets level program input screens

D. Supplies data management screens

E. Sets calibration data parameters

F. Provides operation feedback

G. Establishes communication between operator and controller

H. Provides program storage and retrieval buffers

Pages 32 and 33

A. Calibrates load cell

B. Sets zero point

C. Sets span point

D. Sets off-set stop

Pages 34

A. Sets the soft stop bit for kill interrupt

B. Prevents processor lock-up

Pages 35-37

A. Sets all of the base variables for a standard program

B. Basic program levels are entered from Operational Interface Terminal to driver

Page 38

A. Sets the span and force for the load cell and allows load cell communication

Pages 39 and 40

A. Power-up default program for stepper drive

B. Loads all operation parameters for the stepper system

C. Initialize outputs

Pages 41-49

A. Sets all operations for 2 stepper axis

B. Initializes all inputs and outputs

C. Sets load cell input

D. Calculates time, force and distance

E. Performs all math functions

F. Provides outputs specific to the application

G. Outputs text to Operator Interface Terminal

Page 50

A. Sets zero calibration mode for the load cell

Controller 60 is programmable through information inputted from the operator interface 50 to set two control parameters, as illustrated in FIG. 3, which are the set load and the height specification range. The set load is applied and sensed to normalize test results and in a preferred embodiment of the invention is used for processing flexible packages used for foodstuffs, etc. between a set range of 0 and 9000 grams. The acceptable minimum and maximum height of the flexible packages 11 without limitation may be set in a preferred embodiment between 0 and 600 millimeters. In FIG. 3, the block 64, represents the setting of the range (proportional band) of the pressure to be sensed by the load cell 52 from 0 to 9000 grams and the block 66 represents the setting of the of the height range (proportional band) specifying the minimum and maximum heights of the package between 0 and 600 millimeters. It should be understood that the ranges of the set load and the set height are not in any way a limitation of the present invention and are only exemplary of ranges which may be used in a commercial embodiment of the present invention. As is illustrated, the controller 60 functions as a AND gate 68 to reject the flexible packages 11 when either the pressure threshold set by the pressure setting function 64 is not exceeded or the height specification set by the height setting function 66 has been exceeded. In this situation, the ANDing function performed by the AND gate 68 activates the air source 17 of the reject conveyor 16, to blow the flexible package 11 off the rigid conveyor when either or both of the set ranges for pressure and height are not achieved as described below.

The present invention performs a process for testing seal quality and height of flexible packages, as illustrated in FIG. 4, as described in conjunction with FIGS. 5-8 as follows. The first step, as illustrated in FIG. 5, is to position the flexible package 11 to be tested at the test station 14 underneath the horizontal surface of the pressure plate 54. Thereafter, the linear actuator 56 initially moves the pressure plate vertically downward into contact with the flexible package. At the point of initial contact between the pressure plate 54 and the flexible package, the load cell 52 starts to feed back a sensed pressure which signals the controller 60 that the loading sequence has begun. As vertically downward movement of the pressure plate 54 continues, an increasing load is applied to the fluid within the flexible package 11 is sensed with the load cell 52. After initial contact of the pressure plate 54 with the flexible package 11, the pressure plate is moved an initial distance by the actuator 56 in the direction which causes the sensed load sensed by the load cell 52 to equal the set load which is set within the range set by the programmable loading function 64. This position is illustrated in FIG. 6. At that time, the controller 60 sets as a reference position of the pressure plate 54 the actual sensed position of the loading device when the set load set by the programmable loading function 64 is sensed by the load cell 52. The reference position is determined by the embodiment of the invention illustrated in FIG. 1 by the microprocessor within the controller 60 setting a counter equal to 0 when the set load is first sensed by the load cell 52. When the load cell 52 initially senses that the set load is reached, the linear actuator 56 is stopped by the controller 60 by removing power from the stepping motor 58, which drives the linear actuator, for a time interval sufficient to permit the package to expand elastically at the test station 14 which drops the load sensed by the sensing device below the set load.

The stopping of the pressure plate 54 for a short time interval at the position illustrated in FIG. 5 is an important part of the testing sequence of the present invention for the reason that the fold lines, and pleats, etc. in the end seals of the flexible packages 11 have an elastic quality which must be relaxed by a loaded expansion over a short time interval in order to achieve optimum test results from the subsequent loading step where seal integrity and compliance with flexible package specifications is reliably checked. In essence, the stopping of the pressure plate at the position of FIG. 5 normalizes the results achieved by the subsequent loading sequence of FIG. 7. A suitable time interval which is sufficient to permit the package to expand may be as short as 250 microseconds if the present invention is used in the production line embodiment as illustrated in FIG. 1. A finite period of time of stopping the pressure plate 54 produces sufficient expansion of the flexible packages 11 so that package dimensions are stable enough after expansion to permit the measurement of the height of the package to signify with reliable accuracy that the package is within an acceptable minimum and maximum height of the package which is necessary to properly use an automatic case packing machine such as the auto case packer 18. After the vertical downward movement of the pressure plate 54 is stopped, as illustrated in FIG. 6, the output load sensed by the load cell 52 drops below the set load.

Thereafter, the pressure plate 54 is moved vertically downward an additional set distance from the reference position until either the load sensed by the load cell 54 again exceeds the set load, as illustrated in FIG. 7, at which point the displacement of the pressure plate 54 from the reference position illustrated in FIG. 5 to the vertical position at which the load cell 52 again signals that the set load has been achieved is measured or that the pressure plate has moved a maximum vertically downward distance without the load cell 52 signalling that the set load has again been reached as illustrated in FIG. 8. Failure to reach the set load after moving the maximum vertically downward distance, as illustrated in FIG. 8, indicates that the flexible package 11 is unacceptable because there is a leak in its seals or the faces. Furthermore, once the set load is sensed by the load cell 52 in the position illustrated in FIG. 7, the measured displacement from the reference position is compared to the acceptable range of the minimum and maximum height to determine whether or not the height of the package is suitable for automatic case packing machine 18.

The controller functions to store in memory that the package is acceptable when the movement of the pressure plate 54 the additional distance from the reference position, as illustrated in FIG. 7, causes the load sensed by the load cell 52 to at least equal the set load and the additional distance of movement from the reference position falls within a set range defining an acceptable minimum and maximum height of the package. The storing in memory that the package is acceptable blocks the activation of the air source 17 which would reject the flexible package from the reject conveyor 16. Furthermore, the controller 60 stores in memory that the package is rejected if the movement of the pressure plate 54 from the reference position the additional distance, as illustrated in FIG. 8, does not cause the sensed load to at least equal the set load or if the sensed load at least equals the set load and the movement of the loading device the additional distance from the reference position does not fall within the range defining the acceptable minimum and maximum height of the package as set by the height setting function 66.

The storage of test status in the memory of the controller as either an accepted or rejected flexible package is used to control the reject conveyor 16 in the conventional fashion to blow off by the activation of an air source 17 all rejected packages once they have moved from the testing station 14 to be adjacent the air source associated with the reject conveyor 16 and to pass all acceptable packages to the case packer 18.

The aforementioned process is repeated for each package as it is conveyed by the inclined section 12 conveyor and the testing section conveyor 38 to be positioned below the pressure plate 54 and loaded in the aforementioned sequence of loading steps.

The set load and the minimum and maximum height and the additional distance that the pressure plate 54 may move in testing the integrity of the seal of the package is programmable into the controller 60 by the use of the operator interface 50.

Preferably, the flexible packages 11 are provided to the horizontally disposed input section 32 from a packaging machine which may be any conventional packaging machine for packaging diverse products contained in flexible packages, such as, but not limited to, the package types identified above.

The set height range specified by the height setting function 66 may be determined by testing a plurality of packages with a set load and determining the additional distance of movement of the loading device 54 at which the set load is sensed to have been reached by the sensing device 52. The set range is set as a function of the determined additional distance with the average of the predetermined additional distance of each of the tested plurality of flexible packages 11 when the set load is achieved being the preferred relationship for determining what the specified average height should be. Thereafter, the deviation from the average may be set on both the high and the low end as indicated by the height setting function 66 by use of the operator interface 50. A module in the Appendix contains programming for implementing the aforementioned automatic function for setting average flexible package height.

The apparatus of FIGS. 1 and 4 may be used to test for microleaks by positioning individual flexible packages 11 under load testing applied by the pressure plate 54 for a testing interval such as 10 seconds per package in the following manner. Flexible packages 11 which are tested for microleaks may be an entire case of packages in order to test for the integrity of the material being used. The testing objective is to determine if any of the packages contain defects in the overall packaging material other than the seal integrity which has already been checked previously by the above-described process. The primary difference between the process for testing for microleaks and the process described above where the seal quality and height of flexible packages is determined is that the testing for microleaks alone requires a much longer loading condition to be applied to the packages after they are initially loaded with the set load to expand them elastically. Preferably, more than one loading step should be applied to the packages followed by the application of an increasing load over a longer time period, such as 10 seconds, in order to insure that the packages are completely elastically expanded prior to determining reliably that there are or are not any microleaks in the packaging material.

Specifically, the microleak detection process is described as follows. The process is identical to the previous process for testing seal quality and height up to the point at which the pressure plate 54 is stopped when the set load has been sensed by the load cell 52 for a time interval sufficient to permit the package to expand at the test station 14 which drops the load sensed by the load cell below the set load as illustrated in FIG. 5. Thereafter, the pressure plate 54 is moved in the direction that causes an increase in load an additional distance over a testing time interval which may be, but is not limited to, an interval such as 10 seconds while sensing the load on the package with the load cell 52 to expel fluid from the package during the testing time interval if leaks are present. The flexible package 11 is rejected after completion of moving the pressure plate 54 the additional distance if the load cell 52 detects a drop in the load sensed over the testing time interval and accepts the package if the sensing device does not detect a drop in the load sensed over the testing time interval. Further, the process may be improved by adding the additional steps of stopping movement of the pressure plate 54 after moving the pressure plate the additional distance for another time interval sufficient to permit the flexible package 11 to expand if the package is not fully expanded followed by moving the loading device in the direction which causes increasing loading another additional distance over another testing time interval, such as 10 seconds, to expel fluid from the flexible package during the another testing time interval if leaks are present in the package and rejecting the flexible package after completion of moving the pressure plate the another additional distance if the load cell 52 detects a drop in the load sensed over the another testing time interval and accepts the flexible package if the sensing device does not detect the drop in the load sensed over the another testing time interval. The aforementioned steps of stopping movement of the pressure plate, moving the pressure plate and rejecting the flexible package or accepting the flexible package may be repeated.

The controller 60, as stated above, preferably is a programmed microprocessor. The controller is electrically coupled to the load cell 52, the digital stepping motor 58 and the conveyors 12, 16 and 38 for determining a position of the pressure plate 54, for monitoring the sensed load, for controlling operation of the conveyors and application of power to the prime mover 58, for controlling an application of power to the prime mover to provide power to the actuator 56 to cause movement of the pressure plate in the direction which increases load so that the pressure plate is initially moved into contact with the flexible package 11 to apply an increasing load to a fluid within the package until the controller 60 receives from the load cell an electrical signal representing that the sensed load equals a set load set by the load 64 setting function, for defining a reference position of the pressure plate when the set load is sensed to have been reached, for causing movement of the pressure plate to stop when the set load has been sensed by the load cell for a time interval sufficient to permit the flexible packages to expand at the test station 14 which drops the sensed load below the set load, for causing the pressure plate to be moved a distance from the reference position in the direction for causing the package to be moved from the test station 16 by the conveyor 38 as an acceptable package if the movement of the pressure plate from the reference position causes the load sensed by the load cell to at least equal the set load and the distance of movement from the reference position falls within a set range determined by the height setting function 66 defining an acceptable minimum and maximum height of the flexible package, and for causing the flexible package to be moved from the test station as a rejected package if the movement the distance from the reference position does not cause the sensed load to at least equal the set load or if the sensed load at least equals the set load and the movement of the pressure plate the distance from the reference position does not fall within the range defining the acceptable minimum and maximum height.

The case packing machine 18 is in line with the reject conveyor 16 for packing accepted packages in a predetermined configuration into cases with the height of a plurality of the accepted packages in the stacked packing configuration falling within a permissible range of height of the stacked packing configuration between a minimum and a maximum for which the case packing machine operates without packing error. An example of a stacked packing configuration of multiple flexible packages, after testing as described above in conjunction with FIGS. 5-8, is illustrated in FIG. 9. The legends in FIG. 9 show in an exaggerated form "minimum" and "maximum" cumulative heights which are permissible with an auto case packing machine 18 when all of the packages individually fall with the minimum and maximum height limits tested by the sequence of FIGS. 5-7. The individual testing of flexible packages prevents a cumulative thickness exceeding the minimum and maximum height of FIG. 9 which could interfere with or prevent automated case packing with the auto case packer 18.

As has been stated above, in a preferred embodiment of the invention, controller 60 implements the height setting function 66 by controlling testing of a plurality of packages with the set load, determines the additional distance of movement of the load cell 52 at which the set load is sensed to have been reached and sets the set range as a function of the determined distance which preferably is the average. Thereafter, acceptable deviations from the average both on the high and load side are set by an operator using the operator interface 50.

While the present invention has been described in terms of preferred embodiments, it should be understood that numerous modifications may be made to the present invention without departing from the spirit and scope of the present invention. It is intended that all such modifications fall within the scope of the appended claims.

APPENDIX

An Appendix containing program modules consisting of 50 pages is attached hereto, The modules are written in the C programming language. The modules are used to implement the programmed controller 60 of the present invention and to control the conveyors and stepping motor and to calculate the average height of the flexible packages as described in the specification. A detailed explanation of the modules is set forth below. The Appendix contains subject matter which is copyrighted. A limited license is granted to anyone who requires a copy of the program disclosed therein for purposes of understanding or analyzing the invention, but no license is granted to make a copy for any other purpose including the loading of a processing device with code in any form or language. ##SPC1##